Generally, a web site is an arrangement of content, such as text, images, and sound, on a set of web pages configured for presentation over a computer network in a predetermined way. The content appearing on a web page is generally stored in a centralized location, such as a database or a set of files, that is local to a web server. Requests for web pages, which are typically transmitted by web browsers via the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) protocol, are processed by the web server. Centralizing the storage of the content found on web pages facilitates its transmission by the web server because the web content is in a known location that is readily available.
Web sites have become more complex as their application has spread. Web sites have proven to be a valuable means of communication both with the public (e.g., a corporate web site) and in private use (i.e., an Intranet site). In either case, it is advantageous to display content with as much breadth and depth as possible to maximize the utility of the web site to its users. However, as web content becomes more complex and diverse, the amount of time, money and effort in obtaining, storing and updating the web content has increased.
More recently, portal web sites, or “web portals”, have been used to deliver complex and diverse content over a computer network. A web portal is a web site containing one or more portlets displayed on a web page. A portlet is a configurable content area displayable on a web page that provides content or performs one or more associated functions, or both. Portlets may display content that is obtained from a source remote from the web server. For example, a portal web site may use an arrangement of portlets to display web content on different subject areas. The web content for each of the subject areas need not be stored centrally to the web server, but instead may be stored in a plurality of locations geographically removed, but accessible to the portal web server. A portlet may be configured such that it may display the information it obtains to the web browser in a customized manner.